Sound was recently honored to receive a $3,526 gift on behalf of the teenagers in the Stroum Jewish Community Center’s (JCC) Giving Initiative for Teens (GIFT). On May 22, Sound Director of Child & Family Services, Joelle Blair and Chief Development Officer Susan Bean attended the GIFT grant ceremony at the community center.
The gift was awarded to Sound’s Child Domestic Violence Response Team (CDVRT) program, an award-winning, cross-system collaborative, designed to meet the unique needs of children impacted by domestic violence and their survivor parent. Working together with domestic violence advocacy organization partners, Sound’s specially trained therapists engage supportive (non-abusive) parents in identifying the needs of their children and family and deliver effective, culturally competent services and supports. Each family receives an individualized plan that integrates safety planning and advocacy services with trauma-informed mental health treatment by qualified therapists.
“The youth put a huge amount of energy for a good part of a year into learning about nonprofits, researching various grants, interviewing different grant seekers and going through a rigorous analytical process to decide who to give the funds that they raised to,” says Blair. “They demonstrated a wonderful sense of philanthropy. Being at the ceremony brought home for me that there are youth in the world who have great compassion, a sense of responsibility and want to make the world a better place.”
During the ceremony, the teenagers had the opportunity to speak about the nonprofits and programs they were supporting. Mikayla Geisner, a sophomore at Mercer High School, introduced Sound at the event.
“We believe Sound perfectly embodies GIFT’s Jewish values. [They] never give up on their clients regardless of how long it takes for progress to be made and CDVRT is the only program in which victims and families sit at the same table with a mental health therapist as well as a domestic violence (DV) services advocate to make a direct plan specialized towards the family’s needs. Sound gives children and families hope and a new life post-trauma by allowing victims to become survivors, thus shaping the futures of all they work with. GIFT is honored to provide funding for such an important organization that embodies our mission.”
The Giving Initiative for Teens is a philanthropy program for Jewish teens in the Greater Seattle area. Teens explore their Jewish values and learn about issues affecting their community, the grant-making process, fundraising and the importance of nonprofits.
Founded in 1949, the Stroum JCC is dedicated to the enrichment of life for the Jewish and general community in the greater Seattle area. Located on Mercer Island, the JCC offers a variety of programs and activities for everyone from newborns to seniors. To learn more, visit https://sjcc.org.
